But that doesn’t really make sense because the team has emphasized building from within from the start. Ned Colletti has also recently said he doesn’t plan on parting with multiple top guys.

Though Colletti would be open to trading a prospect, he has no intention of parting ways with packaging more than one of them. Under their new owners, one of the Dodgers’ goals has been to rebuild the farm system.

“For me, Bobby and anyone who’s ever had sustained success, we talk about it all the time. We didn’t invent the philosophy,” Kasten said. “We had owners who were A, committed to committing resources in the minor leagues and, B, patient. The difference between then and now with the Dodgers is that, because of our market place, we can talk about doing both jobs at the same time.”

Kasten talks about rebuilding the minor leagues all the time, and a trade for Price would likely take three of Joc Pederson, Zach Lee, Julio Urias, and Corey Seager, who are basically all of their potential impact prospects, so I don’t see a fit at all.

—–

As expected, Matt Kemp and Andre Ethier are on the minds of four teams.

Dodgers currently in discussions with four teams on Kemp/Ethier possibilities.

According to major league sources, there is “nothing to” the reported Red Sox interest in Matt Kemp. Two sources classified the contact regarding Kemp as “barely” touching base.

I think this is actually the case in a lot of these Kemp rumors. Despite whatever Dave Stewart is saying now, they don’t seem real motivated to deal him.

—–

As predicted, third base is receiving a lot of speculation, but Colletti said Hanley Ramirez moving there and Alexander Guerrero starting there are not options.

He also remains third-base challenged, waiting on Juan Uribe to accept an offer, with Uribe being the best available third baseman in what Colletti termed a “shallow pool” of talent at the position. Colletti said at this time he’s not planning on moving shortstop Hanley Ramirez to third base or beginning Cuban rookie Alexander Guerrero’s Major League career there.

Colletti watched Guerrero play in the Dominican Winter League last week and came away saying that he “needs to play, needs at-bats,” which is not the same as saying Guerrero is ready to be in the Opening Day starting lineup.

In fact, Colletti also ruled out Guerrero as a third-base option, saying he still projects at second base.

The Los Angeles Dodgers are running out of patience as they await word from free agent third baseman Juan Uribe on their latest offer, general manager Ned Colletti said Monday, the first day of baseball’s winter meetings.

The latest rumor has the Chicago White Sox emerging as possible suitors for Uribe. The Miami Marlins also have reportedly reached out to him.

Colletti said the Dodgers are considering moving on and concentrating their efforts on trading for a third baseman. Beyond Uribe, Colletti said, the team is not pursuing any other free-agent third basemen, probably the thinnest position in the market.

“Everybody can go do what they want to go do,” Colletti said. “Hopefully, this week we’ll have more conversations with them and at least get an update on their position. I’m in need of an update on their position.”

Probably a bit of lip service to send a message, but if not Uribe, I’m struggling to see a fit beyond a questionable trade. Omar Infante has been rumored as a target, but he hasn’t played third regularly in a few years.

Matt Kemp entered 2013 coming off serious shoulder surgery to repair a badly torn labrum in his left/lead shoulder. It was an unavoidable injury, but the recovery time was stalled by the club allowing him to play through it down the stretch in 2012. Ned Colletti, Don Mattingly, and everybody involved allowed the emotions of trying to sneak into the postseason overwhelm them and cloud their judgment. Six years of Matt Kemp’s future were far more important than a month or two, and the staff’s job was to recognize that and protect the player from himself.

They obviously failed in that respect, and it clearly hampered Kemp early in the season. His shoulder was not 100%, as he struggled early on; he couldn’t get his weight-training regimen to where he needed it to be until June; and his lack of production hurt the team and himself.

Matt hit a horrific .251/.305/.335/.640 through his first 51 games with two homers and ten doubles before injuring his hamstring and hitting the DL for a month (which followed a short bout with numbness in his elbow). After returning from his first DL trip, he was only available for 10 games before returning to the 15-day disabled list with irritation in the AC joint of his left shoulder. During his brief return, Kemp hit .273/.333/.485/.818 with a pair of dingers.

Kemp returned to action again in mid-July and put forth one of his best games of the season, reaching base safely four times via a homer, double, single, and walk. He drove in three and scored a run, but Kemp injured his ankle badly in a ninth-inning freak play at home plate and missed the next two months, returning as the regular season was winding down.

Kemp got into 11 September contests in preparation for a postseason run, and he was sort of back to the Matty of old. Including that July game that resulted in his ankle injury, Kemp mashed to the tune of a .359/.432/.615/1.047 slash line over his final 12 games, with two long balls, four doubles, nine RBIs, and a 5:7 BB:K mark. Extending that back to his last 22 games, he hit .319/.388/.556/.944. Of course, the issue is that those 22 games stretched from late June to late September.

As well as Kemp played down the stretch, and as promising as his presence was for a deep postseason run, the club ultimately made the right decision in shutting him down, as his ankle flared up and was at a serious risk of breaking. Of course, the irony in shutting him down with the playoffs guaranteed and not doing the same thing last year with a long-shot at the playoffs doesn’t escape me, but at least the club learned from their error in judgment.

There’s something key in this season summation that can’t be emphasized enough, so I’ll lay it out once again:

.251/.305/.335/.640

.273/.333/.485/.818

.359/.432/.615/1.047

As The Bison got healthier — and he was never truly healthy during the entire season — he began to hit more like the Kemp of 2011 and early 2012 than the Kemp of late 2012 and early 2013, who was playing with one shoulder. He’ll have an entire off-season to heal from his ankle and shoulder surgeries and move further away from the cleanup of his torn labrum.

—–

I’ve seen countless trade rumors surrounding Kemp this off-season, and of course the team should listen to any GM who proposes a trade. That being said, selling low and trading away Matt for pennies on the dollar is a foolish idea. It’s not at all far-fetched that health will find Kemp this upcoming season after a full off-season of recovery, as we’ve seen players like Carlos Beltran and Jacoby Ellsbury rebound from seasons lost to injury to still be productive players.

2011 and early 2012 may never happen again after the various ailments that have felled Kemp, but success going forward is more likely than many are willing to believe.

The Dodgers were in need of a center fielder following Kemp’s lost season, and the options they had were not plentiful and not appealing.

The team could have called up Joc Pederson from Double-A, though he was in need of more seasoning and some experts have him pegged as a corner outfielder long-term. Skip Schumaker, who would man center during the NLDS, has made his name on positional versatility, except for the fact that he doesn’t field any position well, including center. Yasiel Puig, the most athletic of all the replacement options, is a perfect right fielder with his cannon of an arm, but lacked the route-running and experience playing the position to be a feasible option in the club’s eyes.

That left Andre Ethier, who had played all of one game and nine innings in center as a major leaguer (that game coming last year), and oftentimes has appeared as though he can’t efficiently man even right field. But the Dodgers were short on options, and they made the choice to go with the safer Ethier over the higher risk/higher reward all-out-style of Puig. It appeared to pay off.

Andre started 70 games in center, 50 in right, and seven in left. And while it’s tough to judge any player on less than one year of defensive metrics, I’m not a big fan of the eye test either. The DRS and UZR metrics had him below average in center, while FRAA had him as well below average overall this season. That said, Dre wasn’t horrendous like many thought he would be in center. Granted, he wasn’t exactly Mike Trout out there either, but he clocked in at -3 DRS and -1.8 UZR, which is actually quite impressive considering some of his earlier seasons in right were outright poor. Given the circumstances, and later his injury, he did an admirable job even if he was exposed at times (like the playoffs) through no fault of his own.

With the lumber, Dre once again failed to adequately hit southpaw pitching, with a line of .221/.275/.338/.613 (.272 woBA, 73 wRC+). But he slashed .272/.360/.423/.783 overall with a .340 wOBA and 120 wRC+, fairly in line with his career numbers minus a drop in slugging of almost 50 points and a drop in wOBA of almost 20 points. Dre walked about 3% more than in 2012 and cut down on his strikeouts by 3% as well.

He once again dealt with injury, missing time down the stretch and being rendered wholly ineffective in the postseason as he battled an ankle malady suffered in early September.

At this point, Dre is what he is, a 2.5-3.5 WAR player who can’t hit lefties and needs to be platooned, but still has value because he can rip righties. Dre has a ton of money left on his deal — 4 years and $69 million plus a 2018 club option for $17.5 million — but he’s still the likeliest of the four outfielders to be dealt, especially if the Dodgers would eat a large portion of his contract.

What 2014 holds for Andre is anybody’s guess. He could easily be traded prior to the season, clearing the logjam in the Dodger outfield. Or — and it would be a pretty sound idea — the Dodgers could decide to keep all four guys, thus deepening a weak bench and covering themselves in the event one of the four outfielders gets hurt, as all four were injured at some point in 2013. Should Andre remain and the club run with four outfielders, he’ll still find plenty of playing time. Kemp, even healthy, will certainly see more rest than he did when he was playing in 399 consecutive games a few years ago. Carl Crawford will be given days off, and the Wild Horse will occasionally find himself in the stable getting a breather.

Andre Ethier is not really a center fielder, nor is he really a star. But if the expectations are toned down and he’s used properly, he can be the great hitter and a highly-effective role player for as long as he remains a member of the club.

Gordon’s time in the DWL has come to an end, as he last played a week ago and has returned stateside. His final line comes in at .348/.412/.370/.782. With a couple of utility guys having left via free agency, the Dodgers will be giving Dee every chance in the world to build on his winter success in the spring and lock down one of the many open bench spots.

Angel Castro – RHP

Castro put forth another impressive performance, fanning five while walking one and yielding nine hits over seven innings of one-run ball.

Venezuelan Winter League

Joc Pederson – CF

Joc has finished up his VWL stint, according to the man himself. He reached base in six of his last 12 plate appearances over his final four games, including a 3-for-3 effort. Joc’s final slash line: .255/.439/.473/.912 with 13 extra-base hits in 34 games and a 42:36 K:BB mark.

Nick Buss – OF

Buss reached in nine of his last 16 trips to the dish, including three straight two-hit showings. His overall performance is now at a solid .302/.348/.465/.813.

Chris Reed – LHP

Reed’s most recent start was his easily his best in Venezuela. The southpaw allowed no runs over six frames of four-baserunner ball, whiffing six against just one free pass. I’m a lot more pessimistic than most regarding expectations for Reed moving forward, as I see him as a peripheral trade piece or bullpen arm going forward.

Mexican Winter League

Luis Cruz – IF

Cruz continued his hot MWL showing, reaching safely in half of his 18 plate appearances. He notched three walks against one strikeout while also having himself a three-hit night.

Juan Noriega – RHP

Juan pitched three scoreless innings this past week, keeping every opponent off of the bases while striking out one.

Puerto Rican Winter League

Juan Silva – OF

Silva reached safely in 10 of 20 trips to the dish, drawing five walks in five games this week. He’s hitting a robust .353/.500/.441/.941 through 14 games in Puerto Rico.

Jan Vazquez – C

Vazquez only made it into two games but made the most of his seven plate appearances, reaching safely four times. He drew three walks and hit his second homer of the winter.

Osvaldo Martinez – 3B

Osvaldo had five hits and a walk in three games, reaching base safely in each contest.

Andres Santiago – RHP

Santiago came in from the pen once this week, pitching four innings while fanning four and allowing four hits.

Clearly a conservative, smart move by the club to protect their newest investment.

—–

Arizona Fall League

Corey Seager – SS

Corey was impressive in his final AFL game, going 2-4. His final line isn’t good in the least — .181/.253/.306/.559 with a .265 wOBA — but he was clearly fatigued heading into the Arizona Fall League (he admitted as much) and I put zero stock in his performance, which would have been the case even had he torn up the league. He’s 19 and will likely see Double-A at some point in 2014 as a 20-year-old.

He’s damn good, and he’s the future of the club somewhere on the left side of the infield.

Brian Cavazos-Galvez went 3-4 with three doubles in the AFL finale.

Jarret Martin – LHP

Martin had a fine final performance, striking out both of the batters he faced in the Glendale Desert Dogs‘ last contest.

Gordon continues to swing the lumber well while playing center with the Tigres Del Licey, reaching base safely in five of 13 trips to the dish over his last three games, while stealing two bases in the process.

Angel Castro – RHP

Castro allowed two runs (neither of them earned) over six frames of six-baserunner ball. He whiffed four against just one free pass.

Venezuelan Winter League

Joc Pederson – CF

Joc got himself back on track over the last four games, reaching safely in eight of 19 plate appearances. He walked four times and struck out just three times, getting back to his incredible OBP ways in the VWL.

Chris Reed – LHP

Reed made his Venezuelan debut, and it didn’t go smoothly. In two starts totaling 6.1 IP, the former first-rounder out of Stanford allowed five earned and 12 baserunners while walking four and striking out seven. On the positive side of things, his second start was much better (although he didn’t last long), as he fanned seven against just one walk.

Mexican Winter League

Luis Cruz – IF

There’s some real confusion as to whether this is the former Dodger Luis Cruz or some other Luis Cruz. In the end, it really doesn’t matter, as whatever Cruz it is won’t be finding his way onto the 25-man roster.

Cruz has posted a .429 OBP over his last three contests while drawing four walks in that span.

Juan Noriega – RHP

Juan’s last two appearances have been his worst of the Mexican Winter League, as he’s allowed five runs and six baserunners over an inning of work.

Puerto Rican Winter League

Juan Silva – OF

Silva gets the nod for the second straight week after another excellent stretch. The 22-year-old posted a .579 OBP over his last four games, reaching base safely 11 times in all. He clubbed three doubles, drove in four, and drew four walks while striking out just one time.

Andres Santiago – RHP

Santiago made two appearances, allowing no runs and no baserunners over 3.2 IP. He fanned six in those two relief outings.

Matt Magill – RHP

Magill allowed two runs and five baserunners over five innings while whiffing four in his lone start of the week.

Australian Baseball League

Chris Jacobs – 1B

Jacobs had himself a monster three-game stretch in which he reached safely in nine of 16 trips to the plate and absolutely demolished the baseball. He had seven hits over the course of two games, including a homer and a double. During these three games, he scored five runs, drove in three, and drew a pair of walks against three whiffs.

Blake Smith – RHP

Smith made one relief appearance, throwing two innings of scoreless ball. He allowed one hit and struck out one batter.

We’ve been down this road before with the Padres‘ Chase Headley, who is once again very available, according to Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe. But now with only one year remaining and coming off an injury-prone down year, the Padres’ asking price might be more in the realm of realism, which could very well lead to him being pursued by the Dodgers this off-season.

Chase Headley, 3B, Padres — There’s growing sentiment that Headley will be traded this offseason. There’s been talk about an extension, but the Padres, who are now willing to increase payroll under CEO Mike Dee’s leadership, are thinking that they can improve a couple of different areas long-term by dealing their third baseman. Dee is hoping to “win our fans back. We have to build trust with our fans that when we make a move it’s for the good of the franchise, a good baseball move rather than a perception that we’re trying to trim payroll. We need our fans to trust us as an organization again.”

So the Pads are going to be looking for multiple prospects that can help them sooner than later, but should they even be asking for a lot?

Well, Headley appeared to put it all together in 2012 in his age 28 season, posting a .286/.376/.498/.875 breakout line with above-average to plus defense at third. He was drawing trade interest across the board, and extension speculation was a weekly deal. But then 2013 happened. Headley’s line plummeted to .250/.347/.400/.747, and all the talks of him being a fluke begun.

In a lot of ways, though, that label was accurate. His 2012 WAS likely a fluke, as a player with a ~10% HR/FB rate all of a sudden saw that shoot up to 21.3%, which was good for 10th in the entire majors. But while 2012 was him having a career year, his 2013 was also a fluke. Headley was slowed by a thumb injury (fractured in Spring Training) and a knee injury that was described as needing surgery in Spring Training (but he kept playing on it anyway). Yet, even without an elite bat, the injuries, and a bit of bad luck, Headley still managed to post a bunch of value. He was still a good fielder at a scarce position and an above league-average hitter, making him a 3.5-4.5 WAR player, even at his supposed lowest career point.

The thing is that while Juan Uribe was a great story for the Dodgers, him and Headley provided on-field value in 2013 that wasn’t that far apart, and Headley would certainly be projected to post a better value in 2014. But the difference in perception between the two is led by the 2013 expectations of Uribe being worthless and Headley being on his way to stardom. So while I still think Uribe on a short deal is a great option, it would be hard to begrudge the team for going after Headley in a trade, who could provide well above-average production at a scarce position for the next 4-6 years (assuming an extension takes place).

—–

So what to trade for a year of team-controlled Chase Headley (~$10 million in 2014)? Dustin Noslersuggests a package of prospects Zach Lee, Chris Reed, and Justin Chigbogu. And while I think Lee is the surest thing to be a solid MLB starter in the system, thus providing more value than Headley (in a vacuum), I absolutely would jump at that deal.

However, I think the inter-divisional trade tax for the Dodgers and the need of the Padres to fill multiple positions with MLB-ready players will lead to the requirement of a better package for Headley. Maybe replacing Chigbogu with Ross Stripling would work, but I think the Padres would prefer Joc Pederson and a couple of solid arms instead. Hopefully they would settle for the former package, as it would still provide them with three prospects that they could potentially debut for the fanbase in 2014.

That said, I’m not convinced the Padres go for it without Pederson, but with only him and Corey Seager as potential impact guys in the Dodgers system, it’s difficult to see the Dodgers parting with either for a player with one year of team control left. Yet with no real answer long-term answer at third, this might be the Dodgers’ best bet at securing the hot corner. And if the Padres truly intend on trading him regardless, then the Dodgers will not likely have the option of signing him as a free agent in 2015.

I don’t think Headley has established himself as a must-get for the team, especially due to the option of Uribe returning and the requirement to overpay a divisional rival, but it’s certainly worth taking a long look, more so than I suspect most fans believe he deserves due to Headley’s 2012 slash line.

The hulking righty who spent part of 2013 closing out games for the Great Lakes Loons made his Arizona Fall League debut, pitching two scoreless innings and not allowing a baserunner in the process.

Dominican Winter League

Alexander Guerrero – 2B

Guerrero went 2-5 with a double and a pair of runs driven in during his DWL debut. In four games, his slash line is .429/.429/.714/1.143, and he did this yesterday:

Dee Gordon – CF

Gordon tore it up this week, racking up 18 plate appearances in four contests. He reached safely in nine of those 18 trips to the dish, including a pair of three-hit efforts.

Perhaps most impressive has been his plate discipline, as Dee walked twice and struck out twice this week. In eight DWL games, Dee is sporting a K:BB mark of 4:3.

Angel Castro – RHP

Castro fanned six against three walks over five innings, allowing a pair of runs and six hits in the process.

Venezuelan Winter League

Joc Pederson – CF

Joc reached safely in three trips to the dish this week, while amassing 13 plate appearances. He struck out five times against one walk and has seen his out-of-this-world walk rate in the VWL normalize to simply insane (30 walks against 31 strikeouts in 24 games).

Nick Buss – OF

Buss reached in six of 15 trips to the plate. Three of his four hits were of the extra-base variety (one homer, two doubles). Nick drew his first walk of the winter in his 12th VWL game.

Ok, so it is in fact that Cruz. Luis belted his first homer of the winter, as well as a pair of doubles, while driving in four.

Juan Noriega – RHP

Noriega made four appearances totaling 2.1 IP last week. He struck out a pair against one walk while allowing no runs and four baserunners.

Puerto Rican Winter League

Juan Silva – OF

Silva played in his first three PWL games of the season, hitting .200/.385/.500/.885 with a homer and three walks against just two strikeouts.

Silva was signed by the club at some point in the recent past, as he spent 2013 with the Reds and played the entire season in the Cal League. He had a pretty solid High-A campaign (granted, he was somewhat old for the league at 22), slashing .271/.386/.414/.799.

Matt Magill – RHP

Magill’s second turn at PWL competition went much better than his debut start, as the righty threw four innings of one-run ball, allowing four baserunners while striking out four.

Australian Baseball League

John Cannon – C

Cannon reached base safely in five of eleven plate appearances, including a three-walk game.

James Campbell – RHP

After a terrible 2013 split between Great Lakes and Rancho Cucamonga, Campbell’s time in Australia hasn’t gone any better. In his most recent two appearances, James allowed two runs over three innings. On the plus side, he did fan five against just one free pass in those pair of relief stints.

The Puerto Rican Winter League and Australian Baseball League have also been added to the DOTF Winter League updates.

—–

Arizona Fall League

Corey Seager – SS

Seager played in two games this week because the AFL held its Fall Stars game, which Corey was a part of. He hit a homer and drove in two during the week, but went 0-3 with an RBI in five innings of the Fall Stars game.

Chris O’Brien – C

O’Brien hit a grand slam on Halloween night to help the Glendale Desert Dogs to a dominating 10-2 victory.

Jarret Martin – LHP

Martin made two relief appearances totaling 2.1 innings. He didn’t allow a run but allowed three baserunners, somehow working around two walks and a hit in his lone inning of work on Halloween.

Dominican Winter League

Dee Gordon – CF

Gordon, playing his new position, reached base twice in twelve plate appearances, stealing one base in the process.

Angel Castro – RHP

Castro pitched 6.1 innings of one-run ball, striking out six against just one walk and five total baserunners.

Venezuelan Winter League

Joc Pederson – CF

Joc continued his torrid Winter League play, though he slowed a bit this week in reaching safely in just 8 of 26 trips to the dish. It was a mixed-bag week for Pederson, as he picked up a Golden Sombrero and struck out 11 times in six games, but also scored four runs and smacked a pair of extra-base hits.

Matt Palmer – RHP

The pickings were slim amongst the pitchers this week in Venezuela, as both Palmer and Red Patterson were terrible; Palmer was just slightly less terrible. Matt allowed three runs (two earned) in four innings of work, whiffing four and allowing three free passes and five hits.

Mexican Winter League

Luis Cruz – IF

Cruz reached base at a .350 clip this past week, clubbing three doubles and driving in six.

Juan Noriega – RHP

Noriega made three appearances this past week, allowing one earned run and four baserunners over 2.1 innings. He fanned a pair in those three games.

Puerto Rican Winter League

Noel Cuevas – OF

Cuevas went 1-3 in his PWL debut. The 22-year-old is coming off of an improved but still disappointing 2013 season in High-A, and has a ceiling of organizational depth and maybe fifth outfielder.

Steve Smith – RHP

Smith pitched an inning and a third of scoreless ball in his lone appearance this week, striking out two while allowing just one baserunner.

Magill is the most interesting name of the eight Dodgers lacing ‘em up in Puerto Rico, as he’s one of the top contenders in 2014 for “next in line” should anything happen to a starter at the major league level.

His first start did not go well. He allowed four runs, a homer, and six baserunners in just 2.1 innings while whiffing three against three walks.

Australian Baseball League

Chris Jacobs – 1B

Jacobs posted a .438 OBP in his first week of action for the Brisbane Bandits on the strength of three hit-by-pitches.

Blake Smith – RHP

Smith made two appearances this week, allowing one run and three baserunners in two innings. He fanned one and walked two.

Pratt has made the most of his 11 plate appearances, reaching base five times with a homer and three walks. He’s hitting .250/.455/.625/1.080 and has yet to strike out.

Corey Seager – SS

Seager is the obvious guy to watch during the winter, and though he has struggled thus far (.146/.239/.220/.459 in 11 games), I’m not concerned in the least about his long-term potential and production. On the positive side of his small sample size in the AFL, half of ManBearSeag’s hits have gone for extra-bases, and he’s shown the willingness to take a walk.

He’s young but advanced for his age, and though he’ll have to move to third unless he suddenly becomes Troy Tulowitzki with the glove, his future is bright as he’s set to begin 2014 in High-A.

The lesser-known of the Garcia relief prospects has posted a 2.35 ERA in just under eight innings of work. He’s continuing to up his stock and his mid-90s fastball could see Los Angeles next year.

Dominican Winter League

Rafael Ynoa – 2B

Ynoa is the only Dodger hitting property in the DWL. Through five games he’s hitting .182/.308/.364/.672 with one extra-base hit. He has a utility upside, but will probably settle as org depth.

Angel Castro – RHP

Castro has fanned ten and allowed just one earned run through 11.1 IP. However, he has walked five in his two starts.

Venezuelan Winter League

Joc Pederson – CF

Joc has absolutely demolished VWL pitching to the tune of a .279/.543/.698/1.241 slash line in 15 games. He has already amassed nine XBHs and a ridiculous 26:15 BB:SO ratio.

Safe to say he’ll be ready for AAA.

Red Patterson – RHP

Coming off of a strong Triple-A campaign in Albuquerque, Red has made four appearances (three starts) in Venezuela and has continued to impress. The 26-year-old has a 1.89 ERA and 16 whiffs in 19 innings. He’s allowing too many hits but has worked around those baserunners thus far.

Mexican Winter League

Luis Cruz – IF

Cruz has hit .308/.419/.385/.804 through seven games, with more walks than strikeouts.

Juan Noriega – RHP

The 23-year-old Mexican native has been very good in his eight innings, allowing just one earned run and walking a pair. However, he’s yet to display the swing-and-miss stuff he had in his 2013 Cal League stint, as he’s fanned just two in those eight frames of work.

Because nothing can ever come easy for the Dodgers, Matt Kemp had surgery on his left ankle on Monday and might not be ready for the regular season. Kemp must have had a setback because Dr. Neal ElAttrache said at the end of the season that surgery wasn’t going to be necessary.

Dodgers center fielder Matt Kemp underwent surgery on his damaged left ankle on Monday. The club said he is expected to be “competitive” in time for the regular season, but apparently not for Spring Training.

Kemp injured the ankle on July 21 while sliding awkwardly into home plate in Washington after admittedly not running hard from third base on a ground ball. Originally diagnosed as a sprained ankle, Kemp attempted to rehab the injury, but pain persisted.

When Kemp was declared out for the playoffs, Dr. Neal ElAttrache said the injury was to a major weight-bearing bone, and a complete fracture could put Kemp’s career in jeopardy.

The arthroscopic operation included the removal of several spurs and a loose body.

More importantly, it involved microfracture of the talus bone, a procedure of punching numerous holes in the bone to stimulate the formation of an overlying layer of fibrocartilage. The operation was performed by Dr. Robert Anderson in Charlotte, N.C., and not by ElAttrache. Anderson is a team physician for the Carolina Panthers.

Kemp will be in a splint for two weeks and a non-weight bearing boot for another two weeks. It’s unknown when he is expected to resume baseball activities.

So basically the ONLY upside to this is that if it wasn’t conclusive before that “gutting it out” for the playoffs wasn’t an option … well those trolls can go crawl back under their bridges now.

Back in reality, it’s disappointing because it sounded like he could’ve been healthy a month or so BEFORE Spring Training, which would’ve given him time to get his body right coming into the year. Now we’re back into 2012 mode, except with his ankle and not his shoulder.

I just hope that if he’s not ready to go to start 2014, that they can actually admit it and keep him in rehab until he’s ready. Also, this likely means the Dodgers keep all four of their highly-paid outfielders going into the year, unless they really like Scott Van Slyke or Joc Pederson.

“It is with a heavy heart to say that I will not be returning to the LA Dodgers in order to pursue other opportunities within my career,” Falsone said in a statement. “I would like to thank ownership, Ned Colletti and Stan Conte for the incredible opportunity they have given me, not only over the last two years as the head athletic trainer and physical therapist, but for the six years I have been involved with the organization. To be a part of such a storied organization has truly been my honor.

“I’d like to thank Don [Mattingly] and the coaches for welcoming me as part of their staff. I’d like to thank fans for their incredible support they have shown me in so many ways. And finally, thank you to the players and their families for allowing me to be a part of your lives and healthcare. You are truly the reason I do what I do.”

It also is confirmed that Stephen Downey, who was in his second season as strength and conditioning coach, won’t be retained as part of the major league staff. Downey could return somewhere within the organization. He spent five seasons as strength coach for Dodgers minor league affiliates, including at high Single-A in 2007-08 and at Triple-A Albuquerque from 2009-11.

Maybe you could accept the excuse that she left for greener pastures if it was just her leaving, but the fact that the strength and conditioning coach is gone as well basically confirms that she was forced out and that it was connected to the team’s propensity for injuries this season.

Do I think the two of them are to blame for all this? I don’t know. And I think that’s the only honest answer one can give. There’s too much that goes into prevention, treatment, and rehab to make an educated guess, because we don’t know anything about the situations and decisions.

Based on results alone, though, I guess heads had to roll. But I honestly don’t expect things to get significantly better in 2014 just because of this. Injuries will always happen and fans are seemingly always complaining about trainers, regardless of team or sport.

Five Dodgers minor-league players were voted as All-Stars for their respective leagues, according to a poll conducted by Baseball America. The main prospects on the list were one of the system’s top prospects in Joc Pederson and one of the system’s up-and-coming prospects in Jacob Scavuzzo.

—–

In AAA, Nick Buss of the Albuquerque Isotopes made the outfield for the Pacific Coast League. He has posted a .303/.363/.525/.888 line, but at 26 is just trying to move up from organizational depth to a spot on the 40-man roster.

In AA, Joc Pederson of the Chattanooga Lookouts made the outfield for the Southern League. One of the Dodgers’ best prospects, he has put up a .278/.381/.497/.878 line against advanced pitching at age 21. He’ll probably move up to AAA next year, unless the Dodgers make his inevitable trade during the off-season.

At A+, Scott Schebler of the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes made the outfield for the California League. A bit older for the league than most future regulars, Schebler has posted an impressive .296/.360/.581/.941 line. He’s a solid prospect and certainly one to watch as he moves to AA. The disadvantage is that he doesn’t necessarily have the time other prospects do in terms of repeating the league.

At A, Geoff Brown of the Great Lakes Loons made the bullpen for the Midwest League. At 24, he’s not much of a prospect, but he put up a 2.08 ERA in 78.0 innings pitched.

At R, Jacob Scavuzzo of the Ogden Raptors made the outfield for the Pioneer League. Splitting time between right and center, Scavuzzo put up a monster line of .305/.352/.580/.932. And while he’s not the second-most likely to make the MLB on this list, he probably is the second-best prospect on this list, as his name even came up back when Dustin Nosler talked with Logan White. At 6’4″ and just 19, there’s plenty of reason to be optimistic.

The Dodgers on Saturday night have reportedly made a move, acquiring infielder Michael Young from the Phillies, per Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports. The trade comes just before the 9 p.m. PT deadline for players to be eligible for the postseason.

The Dodgers acquired another veteran for their bench on Saturday with the trade for infielder Michael Young from the Phillies. The Dodgers acquired Young and cash considerations for left-handed minor league pitcher Rob Rasmussen, and Young waived his no-trade clause to facilitate the transaction.

“He can play first, he can play third. He can come off the bench. He’s a professional hitter in a lot of ways. He’s someone who we feel has a lot left,” said general manager Ned Colletti. “As we’ve done in the past on August 31, we looked to add somebody of character and of quality, and we feel like he’s both of those.”

Which is fine, but any starts over Juan Uribe, Adrian Gonzalez, or Scott Van Slyke instantly makes the Dodgers worse.

The Dodgers have signed Edinson Volquez to a major-league deal and the Padres will pay all but the pro-rated minimum of his salary, according to Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports.

The Dodgers were obviously not comfortable with Chris Capuano‘s performance as the fifth starter, and Stephen Fife has been getting knocked around in AAA after the Dodgers had him switching roles. I can’t imagine they signed Volquez to be a bullpen arm, as they already have 13 pitchers and three experiments in there.

There’s no real risk here, but the problem is that Volquez is basically the worst pitcher in the majors right now, or at least he’s close to it. He has a 6.01 ERA in 142.1 innings and leads the league in earned runs surrendered. Of course, his FIP is 4.20, his xFIP is 4.23, and his SIERA is 4.49, so he figures to regress back to mediocrity, but both Capuano and Fife have better peripherals AND performance than Volquez does.

Chris Withrow was sent to AAA in a corresponding roster move, though the righty will return after Albuquerque ends their season on Monday.

The Dodgers made official the move that was first reported on Wednesday with the signing of Edinson Volquez to a major league contract for the remainder of the season. Volquez was activated before the Dodgers’ game Friday night against the Padres.

To make room for Volquez on the active roster the Dodgers optioned Chris Withrow to Triple-A Albuquerque, though the move is only temporary as the Isotopes’ season concludes on Monday. Withrow can be activated as soon as Tuesday, when the Dodgers are in Colorado to face the Rockies, and because the minor league season is over doesn’t have to wait the normal 10 days when optioned.

Volquez has been one of the worst pitchers in baseball in 2013, so expecting anything of him would be misguided. A shot in the dark.

The Dodgers made their first wave of promotions on Sunday, adding five players from Triple-A Albuquerque on the first ay roster limits expand. The team recalled catcher Drew Butera, outfielder / first baseman Scott Van Slyke, infielder Dee Gordon, and pitcher Peter Moylan and Stephen Fife on Sunday.

Van Slyke has the most potential to make an impact in the postseason, and if Fife could get himself right again he could be in contention for a bullpen spot in the playoffs.

Julio Uriashas been shut down by the Dodgers after he reached his innings limit. The 17-year-old southpaw was fantastic in his debut campaign playing for the Great Lakes Loons in Low-A Ball, and the future is bright as he continues his development.

Tomorrow is the day the Dodgers have been awaiting for a month now: the day rosters expand. The bullpen doesn’t currently consist of Brian Wilson, Brandon League, Carlos Marmol, and Edinson Volquez because they’re the best the organization has, but rather because they have upside and the team wants another month to evaluate them for the postseason roster and 2014. Sep. 1 is that magical day they get to keep all those aforementioned guys and call-up everybody they’ve kept in the minors who could have been helping the roster all along.

Generally speaking, this is where fans would be dreaming of Joc Pederson or Zach Lee or even Ross Stripling, but none of them are on the 40-man roster, and with the addition of Volquez to fill out the 40-man, a roster move in that area appears unlikely. That said, Ned Colletti does expect more than a few players to be called up:

Dodgers general manager Ned Colletti said he would be surprised if he adds a player in a waiver trade before Saturday’s deadline, though he expects the Dodgers to call up five to seven Minor Leaguers once rosters expand on Sunday.

“It’s a small list of phone calls,” Colletti said. “The deadline at this point is really no different than it was in July. There’s still not a tremendous amount of sellers.”

So no waiver trades are expected, which isn’t surprising, but five to seven guys are expected to come up sooner than later.

99%

The no-brainers are Scott Van Slyke, Chris Withrow, and Drew Butera. The former two are on the optimal roster anyway, and Butera is the third catcher for September depth/day-to-day insurance.

75%

Dee Gordon and Stephen Fife figure to join the fray considering they were with the team a bunch this year. Gordon would be up for his speed and ability to play short (sort of), while Fife would be there as the long relief/spot starter guy or perhaps even take the fifth starter role if he gets right.

They aren’t locks, though, because Gordon has been generally terrible and I think the team has rightfully soured on him, while they passed Fife many times and added Volquez, which says a lot about their current confidence level in him (he’s getting rocked at AAA).

50%

So this is where it gets a bit murky for me: Javy Guerra, Matt Magill, Peter Moylan, Alex Castellanos, and Jose Dominguez.

All have had time with the team in 2013, but could be out of favor for different reasons. Castellanos has fallen behind Van Slyke on the depth chart, and with Matt Kemp soon returning, carrying six outfielders might seem like overkill. Moylan could be a useful arm, but the Dodgers didn’t seem all that shy about demoting him while they clung on desperately to other veterans, so he could have a superfluous existence on the roster. Guerra and Magill are the likeliest options on the depth chart, but the team has been decidedly hesitant to call either up lately. I would predict Guerra comes up for mop-up duty but Magill stays down so that he doesn’t have to adjust to a relief role.

As far as Dominguez goes, I think he’s a lock if he’s healthy … if. Currently he’s not healthy, and he’s one of the guys that Colletti is likely talking about as call-ups after Sunday.

25%

Justin Sellers, Elian Herrera, and Shawn Tolleson fill out this tier. Everything I said about Castellanos? Double that for Herrera, who has more versatility but is even further behind in the pecking order. Same goes for Sellers, who I have to believe is behind Gordon if they gave Gordon the call first earlier in the year.

Tolleson is in Dominguez’s shoes, except it’s been longer since he’s last pitched and he’s not simply slow to recover, he’s had a setback.

I figure I don’t have to explain Pederson and Lee, who are among the team’s top prospects. Stripling is up there as well (2.56 FIP AA), but he has to be behind Fife, Magill, and Lee, at least. Onelki (3.57 FIP 2013) and De La Cruz (2.75 FIP 2013) have advantages because they’re both lefty relievers, and Onelki has been seemingly fast-tracked by the team, so that says a lot to me. Onelki probably has the best realistic shot at being promoted out of everybody in this tier. Buss (.903 OPS/.373 wOBA 2013) has raked at AAA all year, but the team has a lot of outfield options that are already on the 40-man. Yimi is a long-shot, but after posting a 1.21 FIP between A-ball levels last year and a 3.17 FIP in AA this year, I just wanted to mention him. Underrated arm.

—–

In all, there was a surprising amount of experience on the 40-man roster, which is likely why they won’t be calling up inexperienced top prospects as they fight for home-field advantage down the stretch. That’s actually good news though, as the roster gets significantly better with the half dozen or so guys who will get the call.

I had the opportunity to see Corey Seager live for the first time, and the skills and raw talent are all there. It’ll be exciting to see what the future holds for the Dodgers top prospect.

—–

Triple-A Albuquerque Isotopes (1-6)

Player Of The Week – 8/12

Eliezer Alfonzo – C

.421/.421/.526/.947, 3 RBI, 3 2B, 0 BB, 4 K

Recalled from the Triple-A Mexican League, Alfonzo’s first taste of Albuquerque went very well.

Pitcher Of The Week – 8/12

Angel Castro – RHP

13 IP, 4 Runs, 14 Hits, 11 K, 4 BB

On the strength of his first start (7 IP/1 H/9 K/1 BB), Castro gets the nod this week. Castro has been a solid starter in Albuquerque this season, which is saying something considering it’s a launching pad. Perhaps most impressive is that Angel has only allowed five homers in the PCL in 2013.

—–

Double-A Chattanooga Lookouts (1-5)

Player Of The Week – 8/12

Joc Pederson – OF

.435/.536/.826/1.362, 3 HR, 8 RBI, 5 Runs, 5 BB, 2 K

Pederson had a monster week at the dish after a rough stretch for the last month and a half. Whether the Dodgers will choose to send him to Triple-A or not remains to be seen, as they could feel it won’t prove much, what with it being a hitter’s paradise and all.

Pederson still remains a major trade chip with the Dodgers’ logjam in the outfield at the major league level.

Pitcher Of The Week – 8/12

Ross Stripling – RHP

6 IP, 0 Runs, 1 Hit, 5 K, 2 BB

Stripling has pitched in the rotation and out of the pen in Chattanooga, putting up an excellent season in Double-A.

Stover, the 22-year-old Californian, has crushed the ball in Ogden after early struggles in Great Lakes.

Pitcher Of The Week – 8/12

Ricky Perez – RHP

3.1 IP, 1 Run (0 ER), 3 Hits, 3 K, 0 BB

It was a bad, bad, atrociously bad week for Raptors’ pitchers. Perez made two scoreless relief appearances and missed some bats. The 23-year-old was one of the few Ogden arms to get through an outing without allowing opponents to cross home.

Perez hasn’t fared well since joining the organization in 2012, allowing too many hits.

—–

Arizona League Dodgers (3-3)

Player Of The Week – 8/12

David Reid-Foley – C/DH

.429/.429/.571/1.000, 1 RBI, 1 2B, 0 BB, 2 K

DRF only played in two games but he made the most of his seven plate appearances. The 22-year-old Michigan native has struggled to hit in Arizona but had his best game of the season (3-4 with a double) this week.

Pitcher Of The Week – 8/12

Bernardo Reyes – RHP

8 IP, 0 Runs, 4 Hits, 10 K, 1 BB

The 18-year-old Reyes, signed out of Mexico earlier this year, had himself a stellar two-start week. He’s off to a nice start in the Arizona League.

—–

Dominican Summer League Dodgers (2-4)

Player Of The Week – 8/12

Ibandel Isabel – OF

.500/.524/.800/1.324, 3 RBI, 2 Runs, 1 3B, 4 2B, 1 BB, 2 K

Isabel makes yet another appearance in DOTF. He’s killing it in his DSL debut and is just 18 years of age.

Pitcher Of The Week – 8/12

Jairo Pacheco – LHP

9 IP, 0 Runs, 3 Hits, 7 K, 5 BB

Jairo, a 17-year-old southpaw, has been outstanding in his DSL debut campaign. He’s missing bats, limiting his walks (this week notwithstanding), and keeping guys off the bases.

Baseball America recently polled managers from the MLB to A-ball, asking them to name the top players in their league in various categories. Players in the Dodgers organization were named 10 times throughout the poll, which actually is a bit disappointing, all things considered.

—–

At the highest level, Dodgers players were named six times by big-league managers, led by Clayton Kershaw.

Kershaw was named the best pitcher in the National League, possessing the second-best curve (behind Adam Wainwright), and being tied for the second-best pickoff move with Clayton Richard (behind Julio Teheran). Rookies Hyun Jin Ryu and Yasiel Puig also landed on the list, with Ryu’s change being named as second-best behind Cole Hamels, and Puig’s arm checking in at third-best behind Carlos Gonzalez and Gerardo Parra. Additionally, Mark Ellis was named the third-best defensive second baseman behind Brandon Phillips and Darwin Barney.

Analytically speaking, Kershaw leads the NL in WAR when using the averaged components of RA/9 and FIP (5.6). Kershaw’s curve is the second-most valuable in the NL, trailing Jhoulys Chacin (Wainwright is fourth). Kershaw is tied for fourth in the NL in pickoffs with four, while Teheran leads with eight and Richard is tied for 20th at one.

As for the rest, Ryu’s change is the fifth-most valuable in the NL, behind Hamels, Jose Fernandez, Tim Lincecum, and Stephen Strasburg. Meanwhile, Puig already has five outfield assists in his abbreviated season (and should have two more if it weren’t for blown calls), while Gonzalez leads with 11. As for Ellis, using an average of DRS/UZR/FRAA metrics shows him to be a positive 2.6 runs defensively, which would rank around the top 6-7 in the NL.

—–

At AAA Albuquerque Isotopes, the lack of importance placed on the level by the organization seemed to show, as they were the only affiliate in the Dodgers organization without a representative on the list.

—–

The AA Chattanooga Lookoutsrepresentation was led solely by Joc Pederson, who garnered two mentions. One as the best defensive outfielder, the other as the most exciting player.

Understandably, much has been written about Pederson, who has a .275/.373/.474/.847 line as a 21-year-old in AA and has been called the best prospect in the system by some. Most importantly, the tools have scouts excited, though I am a bit surprised to see him grade out as the best outfielder in the league since there are questions about whether he can stay in center.

—–

At high-ARancho Cucamonga Quakes, Jonathan Garcia was named as the best outfield arm.

Garcia’s prospect star has faded following his peak in 2010, but he is having a resurgence this year, posting a .287/.337/.574/.911 line in high-A and earning a promotion. Unfortunately, he is struggling against advanced pitching to the tune of a .186/.245/.235/.481 line, but he’s still just 21.

His 12 outfield assists in 67 games (yes, really) at Rancho explain his rating here.

—–

Finally, at A-ballGreat Lakes Loons, Scott Griggs was named the best reliever.

Griggs has always had nasty stuff, and as a 22-year-old college reliever in A-ball, he’s absolutely clowning. He has a 2.56 ERA and 2.67 FIP in 45.2 innings, but it’s the ridiculous 14.6 K/9 rate that has likely given him this recognition. He’s always had the stuff to succeed, but he’s likely still wandering around A-ball because he’s walking 6.5 batters per nine.

Sorry, no Julio Urias this week, as the ridiculously young hurler didn’t go beyond two innings in either of his starts. The southpaw hasn’t exceeded two innings since early July.

—–

Triple-A Albuquerque Isotopes (1-3 & 4-3)

Player Of The Week – 7/15

It was a short week for the Topes with the Triple-A All-Star Game eating into the week.

Nick Buss – OF

.333/.385/.583/.968, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 2 Runs, 3 K, 1 BB, 2 SB

Buss and Alex Castellanos were close, but Nick edged out his teammate to continue his strong season in Albuquerque.

Pitcher Of The Week – 7/15

Matt Magill – RHP

4 IP, 1 Run, 3 Hits, 4 K, 5 BB

You know it’s a rough week when the best pitcher walks five in his only appearance. Magill could well find himself back in the bigs if there are a couple of injuries, and after dealing with injury issues of his own, it’s nice to see him work around some control issues to only allow one run and strike out four in four innings.

Player Of The Week – 7/22

Nick Buss – OF

.529/.591/.882/1.473, 2 HR, 6 RBI, 7 Runs, 3 BB, 1 K, 4 SB

Buss takes the nod for a second straight week, as he continues to mash AAA pitching. He could be a September call-up should the Dodgers decide to add him to the 40-man roster.

After a strange and not production-based promotion to Double-A, Gould had himself a hell of a week. He made one start and had his best stuff in four innings of relief, whiffing ten against two walks.

Gould has been much better in Chattanooga than he was in Rancho, and his latest outing provides flashes of what the Dodgers saw when they paid him more than slot to secure his signing in 2009.

—–

High-A Rancho Cucamonga Quakes (4-2 & 5-2)

Player Of The Week – 7/15

Noel Cuevas – OF

.438/.438/.813/1.250, 2 HR, 4 RBI, 3 Runs, 3 K, 0 BB, 3 SB

Cuevas just edges out Scott Schebler (.296/.310/.815/1.125, 4 HR, 8 RBI, 6 Runs), as Cuevas did his damage in two fewer games and struck out ten times less than Scott. The Quakes had a number of guys swing the bat well this week en route to their four wins.

Pitcher Of The Week – 7/15

Carlos Frias -RHP

7 IP, 1 Run, 3 Hits 11 K, 1 BB

Frias’ masterful and best outing of the year gives him the edge over Lindsey Caughel, who went 12.1 innings this week (11 Hits, 5 Runs, 14 K, 1 BB).

Player Of The Week – 7/22

Casio Grider – IF/OF

.529/.600/.706/1.306, 1 RBI, 7 Runs, 1 3B, 1 2B, 1 BB, 3 K, 4 SB

Grider capped a solid week by going 5-5 with a double and three runs scored Sunday. The 25-year-old is ridiculously old for High-A and has had a very rough go of it in 2013.

Pitcher Of The Week – 7/22

Eric Eadington – LHP

6.1 IP, 0 Runs, 4 Hits, 9 K, 1 BB

The southpaw has had a terrible 2013 but made three strong relief appearances this week, whiffing nine against just one free pass.

—–

Low-A Great Lakes Loons (4-2 & 3-3)

Player Of The Week – 7/15

James Baldwin – OF

.381/.417/.571/.988, 6 RBI, 3 Runs, 4 2B, 7 K, 2 BB, 2 SB

The soon-to-be 22-year-old center fielder paced the Loons to a 4-2 week and showed nice pop in what has been an improvement over his 2012 Low-A campaign, though he’s still underperforming greatly in Great Lakes.

Pitcher Of The Week – 7/15

Owen Jones – RHP

3 IP, 0 Runs, 2 Hits, 7 K, 3 BB

There were a number of guys with solid weeks who could’ve found themselves in this spot. Jones, a 23-year-old college reliever, made three relief appearances for the Loons and held opponents scoreless while continuing to display his good swing-and-miss stuff.

Player Of The Week – 7/22

Aaron Miller – OF

.389/.500/.722/1.222, 1 HR, 5 RBI, 4 Runs, 1 3B, 1 2B, 4 BB, 3 K

Yes, that Aaron Miller. The converted southpaw had himself quite a week, highlighted by a 4-4 effort which included the dinger.

Pitcher Of The Week – 7/22

Tom Windle – LHP

5 IP, 1 Run, 6 Hits, 4 K, 0 BB

The 2013 2nd-rounder continues to impress in his professional debut with another five strong innings of work. Windle is at almost a punch-out an inning thus far, and has allowed just one homer through six starts.

—–

Ogden Raptors (2-4 & 3-3)

Player Of The Week – 7/15

Brandon Trinkwon – SS

.480/.519/.840/1.359, 1 HR, 5 RBI, 5 Runs, 6 2B, 4 K, 2 BB

The 2013 7th-round selection out of UC Santa Barbara crushed the baseball, as a number of Raptors players had brilliant offensive showings this week. Trinkwon continues his strong debut campaign in the Pioneer League, and I wouldn’t completely rule out a late promotion to Great Lakes.

Pitcher Of The Week – 7/15

Luis De Paula – RHP

3 IP, 0 Runs, 2 Hits, 3 K, 2 BB

It wasn’t a strong week for Raptors pitching, but the 21-year-old Dominican put forth one of his best outings of the season in a relief effort.

Honorable mention to Zachary Bird, who whiffed eleven and walked just two over eight innings of work (one outstanding start and one poor start) while allowing seven earned runs.

Player Of The Week – 7/22

Joey Curletta – OF

.412/.444/.882/1.327, 2 HR, 9 RBI, 4 Runs, 2 2B, 1 BB, 3 K

The young masher did all of his damage in two games this week. Curletta, 19, has displayed a good eye at the plate, and though he possesses immense power, the pair of long balls were his first two homers in 2013 and the first of his professional career.

Matt Kemp’s lost season took another bad turn on Monday, as the Dodgers center fielder was placed on the 15-day disabled list with left shoulder AC joint inflammation. The move is retroactive to Saturday, one day after Kemp irritated the AC joint in his left shoulder during a swing in the second inning against the Giants at AT&T Park in San Francisco.

The Dodgers activated Scott Van Slyke from Triple-A Albuquerque to take Kemp’s place on the roster. Van Slyke was optioned to Triple-A on Friday to make room for Crawford, and since this recall is within 10 days of that, Van Slyke gets credit for major league service time and salary as if he hadn’t been optioned on Friday.

The Dodgers have used the disabled list 22 times this season, with 15 different players. Kemp is one of six players with at least two DL stints.

Kemp had an MRI exam on his sore left shoulder and was examined by Dr. Neal ElAttrache, who confirmed Friday’s diagnosis that Kemp had irritated the acromioclavicular (AC) joint where the collarbone meets the shoulder.

ElAttrache said the injury is unrelated to the surgery he performed on Kemp last year to repair a torn labrum and a frayed rotator cuff.

Manager Don Mattingly said he’s optimistic that Kemp, who received a cortisone injection Friday night, would be on the DL the minimum 15 days.

“I think so,” Mattingly said. “But I don’t want to go out on a limb. I think 15 and he’ll be ready to go, but I didn’t think he would be disabled.”

Mattingly initially said he didn’t think Kemp would need a rehab assignment, then backpedaled and said “possibly.”

Yasiel Puig left Thursday night’s game against the Rockies at Dodger Stadium after aggravating his left hip, eight days after running into the right field wall at Coors Field. Puig went 2-for-4 as the Dodgers beat the Rockies 6-1 on Thursday night, but left after the seventh inning in favor of Andre Ethier.

Manager Don Mattingly said after the game, as shown on the Prime Ticket broadcast that Puig felt something when he hit the first base bag on his second hit, in the fourth inning. Mattingly said he didn’t think Puig’s injury was connected to his collision with the right field wall at Coors Field on July 3, and that Puig wouldn’t need more than a day off.

Puig said after the game his hip wasn’t bothering him and that he’d get treatment on Saturday, per J.P. Hoornstra of the LA Daily News.

Puig had x-rays taken on his left leg in Denver, and they were negative. He was diagnoses with left thigh tightness and a bruised left hip. Since that collision, Puig has started every game since and has hit .270/.325/.297 (10-for-37) with 13 strikeouts and three walks.

Mike Petriellohas visual proof of the toll the injury has taken on Puig’s ability to run the bases, though he did enter Sunday’s game as a pinch-hitter and looked fine on the basepaths and chasing balls down in right.

Fife had a recurrence of right shoulder bursitis that put him on the DL in May. He said it surfaced Sunday but didn’t bother him during his Saturday start in San Francisco. Fife has gone 3-3 with a 2.76 ERA in eight starts.

Mattingly said because of the All-Star break, Fife will miss only one start and will be eligible to return to start the fourth or fifth game after the break.

“He’s another one that didn’t make sense to let him go farther,” said Mattingly.

Fife said his shoulder didn’t bother him during his unlucky 4 1/3 inning start Saturday, but discomfort cropped up playing catch Sunday, and he was unable to throw his regular bullpen session Monday.

“It’s not nearly as bad as last time,” said Fife, who was placed on the DL April 22 with the same diagnosis. “The doctor said it’s just inflammation of the bursa sac, everything else is clean.”

The Dodgers got mixed news before their game against the Rockies on Friday at Dodger Stadium. Yasiel Puig, who aggravated his left hip on Thursday, is back in the starting lineup, in right field. But left fielder Carl Crawford, who was in the starting lineup Friday, was scratched with lower back stiffness.

Crawford was activated from the disabled list a week ago Friday after he missed 30 games with a right hamstring strain. He is just 2-for-25 (.080) with two walks since his return and has seen his batting average plummet from .302 to .274.

Josh Beckett had surgery in Dallas on Wednesday to treat his Thoracic Outlet Syndrome, the Dodgers announced before their game against the Diamondbacks at Chase Field. The procedure, which was performed by nerve specialist Dr. Greg Pearl, involved the removal of Beckett’s right first rib to relieve pressure on his nerves.

Beckett will begin a rehabilitation program in five days and is expected to be ready to pitch in spring training 2014.

Beckett was 0-5 with a 5.19 ERA in eight starts for the Dodgers in 2013, and last pitched on May 13. He was first placed on the disabled list with a groin injury and what Beckett termed “other stuff,” which caused tingling in his arm and hand. Once the groin injury healed, the tingling remained and Beckett was shut down for four weeks in June.

He began a throwing program on June 26 but after feeling the tingling in his right hand return two days later Beckett was shut down again. After consulting with team physician Dr. Neal ElAttrache and Dr. Pearl it was decided that Beckett would have the season-ending surgery.

Beckett, 33, has one more year remaining on his contract, and will make $15.75 million in 2014.

Ouch.

Hopefully Beckett’s career doesn’t end like this, regardless of whether it ends in Dodger Blue or not.

—–

Per Dylan Hernandez, Joc Pedersonmissed multiple games with a strained oblique. He was able to play in the Futures Game though, so all seems well.

Right-handed pitcher Matt Magill was activated from the disabled list today, July 10, after being placed onto the DL retroactive to June 20. The Southern California native will start tonight for the Isotopes.

As much as Magill struggled in his short stint in the bigs, he’s still important minor-league depth. He’s next in line should anything happen long-term to Fife and Chris Capuano.

The most important name of note for 2013 is Javy Guerra, who could make an impact in the pen at some point down the stretch. Also, seems like there was little reason to be concerned about Pedro Baez‘s stint on the DL.

Buss, the lone Isotope representative for the Triple-A All-Star Game, had himself a solid week and is having a really good season overall. At best, he’s a fifth outfielder type, but being able to play center field is an advantage for him.

Pitcher Of The Week

Blake Johnson – RHP

6 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 3 BB, 3 K

Johnson had a nice start this week for the ‘Topes, and has been consistently solid all season. He has the outsidest (yeah, I just wrote that) of chances to see Los Angeles this season.

—–

Double-A Chattanooga Lookouts (3-4)

Player Of The Week

Joc Pederson – OF

.333/.481/.619/1.100, 2 HR, 2 RBI, 5 R, 4 SB, 5 BB, 4 K

Pederson is the Dodgers’ only Futures Game representative, and has shown all facets of his game this season. Early on, it was the power. Now, he’s showing his plate discipline with some power spliced in. I’d be surprised if he isn’t a full-time major leaguer by mid-2014.

Pitcher Of The Week

Zach Lee – RHP

13 IP, 8 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 4 BB, 10 K

On any other week, Chris Reed would have taken this honor (13 IP, 8 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 5 BB, 14 K), but Lee’s performance just edged him out. I’m more encouraged by Reed’s recent performance, but Lee has been great all season.

—–

High-A Rancho Cucamonga Quakes (2-5)

Player Of The Week

Scott Schebler – OF

.407/.485/.741/1.225, 2 HR, 7 RBI, 3 2B, 6 R, 2 BB, 6 K

Schebler had himself quite a week, including a walk-off grand slam on June 28. With Jonathan Garcia being promoted to Double-A, Schebler is one of the best hitters remaining for the Quakes.

Pitcher Of The Week

Gustavo Gomez – RHP

6 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 3 K

The Quakes’ rotation has taken some hits from promotions this season (Ross Stripling, Duke Von Schamann, Garrett Gould), but Gomez has been there all season. He hasn’t thrown particularly well, but he gives them some much-needed innings at times.

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Low-A Great Lakes Loons (6-1)

Player Of The Week

Jeremy Rathjen – OF

.300/.417/.500/.917, 1 HR, 4 RBI, 1 2B, 2 R, 2 SB, 4 BB, 4 K

I thought Rathjen would make an appearance earlier in the season on this list, but he’s struggled in the Midwest League so far. However, he had a good week for the resurgent Loons and should be a fixture in the lineup going forward.

Pitcher Of The Week

Scott Griggs – RHP

7 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 15 K

That’s not a typo. Griggs struck out 15 in seven innings this week, which earned him Midwest League Player Of The Week honors. The closer for the Loons, Griggs could move quickly if he exhibits enough control.

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Ogden Raptors (5-2)

Player Of The Week

Pat Stover – OF

.471/.471/.765/1.236, 6 RBI, 1 2B, 2 3B, 2 R, 2 SB, 0 BB, 3 K

Stover is a bit old for the Pioneer League, but he helped pace the Raptors this week. With a team full of teens and 20-year-olds, Stover is a welcome “veteran” presence in the lineup.

Pitcher Of The Week

Jose Agusto Diaz – RHP

3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 6 K

Diaz spent the last two seasons with the Dominican Summer League Dodgers, so jumping to the Pioneer League is a little more significant for him than most. But he is 22, so he probably should have been up sooner.

—–

Arizona League Dodgers (4-1)

Player Of The Week

Justin Chigbogu – 1B

.350/.417/.850/1.267, 2 HR, 9 RBI, 2 2B, 1 3B, 7 R, 3 BB, 6 K

Chigbogu was recently promoted to Ogden, but he left his mark on the Arizona Rookie League before he left. The 2012 fourth-round draft pick had a 1.091 OPS in 11 games.

Pitcher Of The Week

J.D. Underwood – RHP

3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 6 K

The 2013 fifth-round draft pick made his professional debut, and it was pretty impressive. Underwood could — and probably should — move up to the Pioneer League before season’s end.

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Dominican Summer League Dodgers (1-3)

Player Of The Week

Ariel Sandoval – OF

.333/.368/.389/.757, 1 RBI, 1 2B, 4 R, 2 SB, 1 BB, 1 K

An underwhelming performance, but it was one of the best this week in the DSL for the Dodgers. Sandoval was one of the Dodgers’ big international signings in the 2012-13 period, but has gotten off to a rough start in his first taste of professional ball.

Pitcher Of The Week

Welington Serrano – RHP

5 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 2 K

The 18-year-old notched his second win of the season for the DSL Dodgers this week. He’s not the best pitching prospect down there, as the guy to keep an eye on is Jairo Pacheco. Like Julio Urias, he’s a 16-year-old lefty.

Pitching was the story for the Dodgers‘ farm system this week, but one positional prospect stood out and was recognized for his great offensive performance.

It’s nice to see youngsters take advantage of their given opportunities.

—–

Triple-A Albuquerque Isotopes (1-6)

Player Of The Week

Matt Angle – OF

.333/.448/.583/1.031, 1 HR, 1 2B, 1 3B, 2 RBI, 5 R, 2 SB, 4 BB, 9 K

Angle, who somehow remained on the 40-man roster for the entire 2012 season, is having a decent 2013 so far. He’s getting consistent playing time with the injury to Alex Castellanos. He, along with others, are going to have to pickup the slack with Tim Federowicz and Scott Van Slyke playing in LA these days.

Pitcher Of The Week

Kelvin De La Cruz – LHP

4 1/3 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 7 K

De La Cruz was an under-the-radar minor-league signing this winter, and so far, he’s pitching well. He’s getting a lot of strikeouts (13.1 K/9) and proving to be a valuable reliever out of the Isotopes’ bullpen.

—–

Double-A Chattanooga Lookouts (4-2)

Player Of The Week

Joc Pederson – OF

.619/.692/.810/1.502, 1 HR, 1 2B, 1 RBI, 3 SB, 5 BB, 2 K

Pederson was somehow not named Southern League Player Of The Week, but he continues to do nothing but hit for Chattanooga. He’s making all kinds of noise and is quickly becoming a more realistic option to be recalled than Yasiel Puig.

Pitcher Of The Week

Ross Stripling – RHP

6 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 8 K

Not bad for a Double-A debut. The 23-year-old was promoted to Chattanooga and was thoroughly impressive. Stripling is proving to be a fast mover and could be some time in LA next year.

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High-A Rancho Cucamonga Quakes (3-4)

Player Of The Week

Ryan Mount – 3B

.556/.571/1.074/1.645, 3 HR, 3 2B, 1 3B, 12 RBI, 6 R, 1 BB, 3 K

Mount was named the California League Player Of The Week with an outstanding performance that included a 5-for-5 game. The nearly 27-year-old is this year’s version of C.J. Retherford. Honorable mention goes to Darnell Sweeney, who hit for the cycle in a game this week.

Pitcher Of The Week

Duke Von Schamann – RHP

6 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 5 K

The Quakes’ starter had another good week and is adjusting to the Cal League rather nicely. With Stripling having been promoted to Double-A, Von Schamann is the most consistent starting pitcher the Quakes have remaining.

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Low-A Great Lakes Loons (1-5)

Player Of The Week

Kevin Taylor – 2B

.348/.423/.391/.814, 1 2B, 4 RBI, 2 R, 3 BB, 3 K

Taylor got his first action of the season this week and performed well. Too bad he’s about the only Loon who hit even remotely well. Corey Seager is on the disabled list and the “veteran” hitters aren’t hitting right now.

Pitcher Of The Week

Angel Sanchez – RHP

13 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 0 ER, 3 BB, 16 K

It’s disappointing to see Sanchez repeating Low-A, especially at the age of 23, but it’s nice to see he’s pitching well thus far. It’ll be interesting to see if he can continue it, get a call-up to High-A, and try to do better this time around.

There were some eye-popping performances in the Dodgers minor-league system the last couple weeks, and I got to see three of the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes games in person, which was awesome.

There are some guys below folks should keep eyes on this season, as they could establish themselves as legitimate prospects with solid performances in 2013.

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Triple-A Albuquerque Isotopes (4-2 & 5-2)

Player Of The Week – 4/22

Scott Van Slyke – 1B

.480/.536/.800/1.336, 2 HR, 6 RBI, 2 2B, 7 R, 1 SB, 3 BB, 4 K

Van Slyke is absolutely mashing the ball right now. Maybe he has a chip on his shoulder from being designated for assignment in the winter, maybe it’s his improved physique. Whatever it is, he’s doing everything right so far in Triple-A.

Player Of The Week – 4/29

Tim Federowicz – C

.571/.583/1.238/1.821, 3 HR, 3 2B, 1 3B, 8 RBI, 6 R, 2 BB, 4 K

Federowicz was the Pacific Coast League Player Of The Week and posted some ridiculous numbers. Those numbers, coupled with Ramon Hernandez’s struggles, helped Federowicz get recalled to the Dodgers on May 8.

Pitcher Of The Week – 4/22

Chris Withrow – RHP

2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K, 2 SV

Withrow, a failed starter, is having some success with the Isotopes. While he’s still walking too many hitters (6.4 BB/9), he’s getting strikeouts (12.1 K/9). He’s on the 40-man roster and could get the call if the Dodger bullpen continues to falter.

Pitcher Of The Week – 4/29

Steven Ames – RHP

4 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K, 1 SV

Ames has been decent but unspectacular this season. His strikeout rate is way down (10.2 last season, 5.2 this season) and he’s giving up a lot of hits (15 in 12 innings), but he did spend some time on the disabled list. He’s also on the 40-man roster, so a call-up could be in his future.

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Double-A Chattanooga Lookouts (2-3 & 1-5)

Player Of The Week – 4/22

Blake Smith – OF

.300/.364/.450/.814, 1 HR, 1 RBI, 2 BB, 6 K

Smith has struggled a bit this season in his second go-round in the Southern League. He’s played a lot of left field because of Yasiel Puig‘s presence and prototypical right-field profile.

Player Of The Week – 4/29

Joc Pederson – OF

.300/.323/.533/.856, 2 HR, 1 2B, 2 RBI, 1 BB, 7 K

Pederson is enjoying a fantastic start to his 2013 in the Southern League. There’s some chatter he could be the outfielder the Dodgers recall ahead of Puig, should the situation present itself. I wouldn’t be opposed to that.

Pitcher Of The Week – 4/22

Rob Rasmussen – LHP

5 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 8 K

Rasmussen was acquired for John Ely this winter and has done a nice job at the back of the Lookouts’ rotation. He’s not going to overpower hitters, but he’ll get his fair share of outs.

Pitcher Of The Week – 4/29

Rob Rasmussen – LHP

12 1/3 IP, 10 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 3 BB, 10 K

Rasmussen was the pitching star for the Lookouts. He’s small in stature, but he’s off to a great start in the Southern League so far. He’s a player to keep an eye on going forward, especially with Chris Reed and Andres Santiago struggling a little.

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High-A Rancho Cucamonga Quakes (3-3 & 4-2)

Player Of The Week – 4/22

Jonathan Garcia – RF

.400/.429/.700/1.129, 1 HR, 3 2B, 2 RBI, 4 R, 1 SB, 0 BB, 4 K

Garcia is repeating the California League after a dreadful 2012. So far, he’s handling the league pretty well. He’s spent a lot of time as the team’s No. 3 hitter, but he was recently moved out of that spot. He has some decent raw power, but he swings and misses too much and he’ll need to improve that this season.

Player Of The Week – 4/29

Darnell Sweeney – SS

.333/.379/.556/.935, 2 2B, 2 3B, 2 RBI, 4 R, 3 SB, 2 BB, 7 K

Sweeney has been a nice surprise since being drafted in the 13th round last year. He’s now hitting third in the Quakes’ lineup after hitting leadoff most of the season. His fielding leaves a lot to be desired, though.

Pitcher Of The Week – 4/22

Duke Von Schamann – RHP

7 2/3 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 7 K

The 2012 15th-rounder is throwing well so far this season. He’s an inning-eating starter a Class-A team desperately needs. And with Ross Stripling being promoted, Von Schamann is the ace of the staff.

Pitcher Of The Week – 4/29

Garrett Gould – RHP

6 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 8 K

Gould was named California League Player Of The Week, although this honor could have gone to Jarret Martin (6 IP, 0 ER, 8 K). I actually saw Martin’s start in person, but it’s hard to argue against Gould’s performance.

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Low-A Great Lakes Loons (3-4 & 1-6)

Player Of The Week – 4/22

Corey Seager – SS

.350/.350/.550/.900, 2 3B, 1 RBI, 3 R, 0 BB, 5 K

Seager did most of his damage in a Loons’ doubleheader sweep on April 21, but he did collect seven hits this week. He’s off to a slow start (.236/.323/.364/.687), but he’s a few days shy of his 19th birthday. This is a tough, aggressive assignment for a teenager, and he’ll be just fine going forward.

Player Of The Week – 4/29

Tyler Ogle – C/DH

.269/.345/.423/.768, 1 HR, 1 2B, 2 RBI, 2 BB, 4 K

There wasn’t much offense in Great Lakes, but Ogle one of the most veteran hitters the Loons have, and he had a decent week. He’s been splitting time with Eric Smith at catcher and DH.

Pitcher Of The Week – 4/22

Lindsey Caughel – RHP

6 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 6 K

Caughel has been the most consistent Loons’ pitcher this season. He was recently promoted to Rancho Cucamonga, and it’d be a surprise if he were to pitch in Midland again this season.

Pitcher Of The Week – 4/29

Carlos Frias – RHP

6 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 5 K

Frias led the Loons pitching staff and is making his first appearance with Great Lakes in his career. He’s pitched at Ogden and, surprisingly, Rancho Cucamonga. So far, he’s having success in the Midwest League.

Pitching was the story for the Dodgers farm system this week, but one positional prospect stood out and was recognized for his great offensive performance.

It’s nice to see youngsters take advantage of their given opportunities.

—–

Triple-A Albuquerque Isotopes (2-4)

Player Of The Week

Alex Castellanos – OF

.417/.417/.667/1.084, 2 HR, 6 RBI, 5 R, 2 SB, 0 BB, 4 K

Castellanos and Scott Van Slyke have quite the nice 3-4 combination going in Albuquerque. The outfielder, who should be a part-time player in Los Angeles, is hitting well again in Triple-A. He’s been great down there since being acquired by the Dodgers.

Pitcher Of The Week

Matt Magill – RHP

6 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 3 BB, 7 K

Magill made the best start of his young Triple-A career by allowing just six baserunners in as many innings. He has the ability to succeed in the rarefied air, but does he have the ability to survive in LA? His most recent start (April 22) was limited because the Dodgers wanted to keep the option of recalling him after Chad Billingsley‘s season ended on April 23.

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Double-A Chattanooga Lookouts (4-3)

Player Of The Week

Joc Pederson – OF

.387/.457/.774/1.231, 2 HR, 2 2B, 2 3B, 4 RBI, 5 SB, 4 BB, 5 K

Also the Southern League Player Of The Week, Pederson is off to a great start in AA. He’s atop or near the top of a lot of offensive categories in the league, and he’s doing it as the third-youngest player. Impressive, to say the least.

Pitcher Of The Week

Zach Lee – RHP

12 IP, 11 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 9 K

This makes me extremely happy. Lee is still my No. 1 prospect, and he’s making me look good so far (and that’s a hard thing to do). He has a sparkling 1.17 ERA and a 2.85 FIP, so it’s not like he’s getting particularly lucky.

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High-A Rancho Cucamonga Quakes (3-4)

Player Of The Week

Scott Schebler – OF

.462/.500/.885/1.385, 1 HR, 2 2B, 3 3B, 8 RBI, 3 R, 1 SB, 2 BB, 7 K

The Quakes have some interesting, if unspectacular, offensive prospects, including Schebler. He’s definitely holding his own in left field so far and should probably move up in the lineup before too long. I’d still like to see him walk some more, though.

Pitcher Of The Week

Michael Thomas – LHP

4 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K, 2 SV

The Quakes’ closer is having a pretty good season so far, even if he is a bit old for the California League. If he were a couple years younger, he’d be a legitimate prospect. At this point, he could make some noise by pitching well, and, since he’s left-handed, could have some sort of future in the majors.

—–

Low-A Great Lakes Loons (3-3)

Player Of The Week

Corey Seager – SS

.350/.350/.550/.900, 2 3B, 1 RBI, 3 R, 0 BB, 5 K

Seager did most of his damage in a Loons doubleheader sweep on April 21, but he did collect seven hits this week. He’s off to a slow start (.236/.323/.364/.697), but he’s a few days shy of his 19th birthday. This is a tough, aggressive assignment for a teenager, and he’ll be just fine going forward.

Pitcher Of The Week

Jharel Cotton – RHP

7 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 6 K

There were three candidates this week, including Ralston Cash and Lindsey Caughel. However, Cotton was the best of the trio. Cotton threw a seven-inning shutout in one of the Loons doubleheader games this week, and he rebounded well after a poor first start (with a relief appearance mixed in).

Kind of a quiet week on the farm for the Dodgers affiliates. The Loons went 4-1, but the other three affiliates didn’t play .500 ball.

The pitching seemed to lack this week more than the offense, but there have been some impressive early-season performances thus far.

—–

Triple-A Albuquerque Isotopes (2-5)

Player Of The Week

Scott Van Slyke – 1B

.435/.517/.957/1.474, 3 HR, 6 RBI, 3 2B, 7 R, 5 BB, 4 K

Van Slyke is on fire to start the season. Not only is he hitting the cover off the ball, he’s walking, too. He’s slimmed down and it appears to be helping him. He’s a late-bloomer for sure, but this is ridiculous — in a good way.

Pitcher Of The Week

Matt Magill – RHP

5 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 7 K

Magill’s first start wasn’t great, but his second start was much better. He has the skill set to pitch in the Pacific Coast League, especially with his ability to get the strikeout. It’ll be interesting to see how Magill fares in the extreme hitter’s league this season.

—–

Double-A Chattanooga Lookouts (2-4)

Player Of The Week

Yasiel Puig – OF

.304/.333/.609/.942, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 2 2B, 1 3B, 1 BB, 5 K

Puig wasn’t as good as last week, but he still was able to smack four extra-base hits while trying to help the mediocre-thus-far Lookouts’ offense. Joc Pederson was a close second.

Pitcher Of The Week

Zach Lee – RHP

7 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 HR, 1 BB (Intentional), 7 K

Lee pitched like the Dodgers’ best pitching prospect this week, as he spun a gem against the Tennessee Smokies. He’s off to a fast start this season, and could re-establish his prospect status (even though he didn’t do a whole lot to hurt it in 2012) with a strong performance in Double-A.

—–

High-A Rancho Cucamonga Quakes (3-4)

Player Of The Week

Scott Wingo – 2B

.400/.571/.467/1.038, 1 2B, 1 RBI, 5 R, 4 BB, 3 K, 2 HBP

Wingo is an on-base machine, or at least he was this week. He gets pushed to the bottom of the lineup thanks to Darnell Sweeney and Noel Cuevas, but it’s nice to have that on-base ability to turn the lineup over.

Pitcher Of The Week

Pedro Baez – RHP

2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K

Kind of a rough week for Quakes’ pitching. Ross Stripling pitched relatively well, but still gave up three runs in five innings. Baez is not the Quakes’ closer right now, but he could be by mid-season, due to either promotions or performance.

—–

Low-A Great Lakes Loons (4-1)

Player Of The Week

Paul Hoenecke – 3B

.476/.500/1.262/1.762, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 3 2B, 7 R, 1 BB, 3 K

Hoenecke has been the Loons’ best hitter by far. He’s providing the middle-of-the-order presence Great Lakes’ terrible offense needs. Corey Seager has struggled (statistically), and the team isn’t getting much offense from anyone else.

Pitcher Of The Week

Ralston Cash – RHP

6 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 7 K

Despite giving up six runs in his first start, none of them were earned. That explains the 0.93 ERA and 4.09 FIP this season, but still, he’s striking batters out (15 in 9 2/3 innings). This is a big year for the former second-rounder.

The 2013 projection for the Dodgers from Dan Szymborski‘s ZiPS system was released last week, and given that it’s probably my favorite forecasting tool, it’s worth a look to see how the team fared.

Forecasting is not a complete science, obviously, and I’ll address some of the potential pitfalls as we go along, but it’s better to use objective tools like these than the hopes/dreams of fans or the bitterness/wishes of haters.

To start us off, how does the team fare, generally speaking? A solid playoff contender, for sure, but a super team? Doesn’t seem likely.

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The Field Players

Despite all the hype over the recent acquisitions, the key cogs in this machine are still Clayton Kershaw and Matt Kemp. It’s a promising sign then, that Kemp projects at a 144 OPS+ and the system has confidence in him continuing to put up offensive numbers in the ~.900 OPS range. His defense in center still lags below average, but his bat more than makes up for it. His playing time projection has dropped due to his injury woes last season, and quite frankly, it’s hard to fault it for that. Regardless, he still figures to be the most valuable field player on the team.

Adrian Gonzalez is slated to be another bright spot, as ZiPS pegs him to bounceback a bit, though not as much as some want, clocking in at an ~.830 OPS/128 OPS+. That would still be his lowest OPS+ since 2008 (besides 2012, of course), but it’s a marked improvement considering his age and negatively trending skills. A-Gon compensates for that lagging bat a bit by putting up plus defense almost worth a win by itself. Hanley Ramirez factors in as yet another bounceback candidate, projecting at a 115 OPS+, which is an upgrade over last year’s 106 and is closer to his pre-2011 production. Defensively, even his horribad -8 run defensive rating is optimistic to me, as he was truly terrible with the glove last year. Given that I already wanted to barf seeing him trying to turn a double play in 2012, I wouldn’t be surprised at all to see him put up horrid defensive numbers after basically not playing the position all of spring.

Unfortunately, that’s where a lot of the offensive optimism ends. Luis Cruz checks in at 84 OPS+ (106 last year), which will anger many fans, but is completely reasonable given the track record. He remains valuable through plus defense, though given the sample size, there’s reason to be skeptical there as well. A.J. Ellis at 96 OPS+ (118) is another depressing but completely logical projection, as evidenced by everybody’s surprise in 2012 at his potent bat. Andre Ethier at 112 OPS+ (123) is hard to figure for me, because he has been consistently putting up ~120 OPS+ seasons even if it has come down from the ~130 OPS+ range two years ago. I suppose the projection system thinks he’ll get old in a hurry … or maybe it just thinks he’ll face an inordinately high amount of lefties. Mark Ellis at 81 OPS+ (93) shouldn’t be much of a surprise considering he’s 36 and put up an 80 OPS+ at Coors Field in 2011.

The last guy of the starters is Carl Crawford, who is the enigma of the 2013 season. He checks in at 104, which is notable because it’s basically his career OPS+ and it’s about what he did in limited time in 2012 over in Boston. That’s of particular note for me, because what he did in Boston in 2012 can be attributed to a mechanical fix that I pointed out in an article for Baseball Prospectus. Understandably, his playing time checks in low, but if he can produce like he did in 2012 but over a whole season, the Dodgers will be much better for it.

Overall, after fixing the playing time of A.J., adjusting Ethier’s offense up a bit, and adjusting Hanley’s defense down a bit, the starting lineup totaled about 22 WAR.

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The Bench & The Prospects

Assuming a bench of Tim Federowicz, Scott Van Slyke or Alex Castellanos, Jerry Hairston Jr., Nick Punto, and Skip Schumaker, we’re looking at around 3 WAR here after playing time is adjusted back to realistic bench levels. I’m guessing Alfredo Amezaga or Tony Gwynn Jr. work their way in somehow, but a five-man bench seems likely initially if the Dodgers can’t deal multiple pitchers before the season starts. Neither player would affect the WAR projection much though.

Honestly? I have to hope the Dodgers do something to improve the bench, because the current configuration looks rather mediocre, and the other options are keeping Juan Uribe and/or Elian Herrera. Yuck.

The good news is that Joc Pederson, T-Fed, SVS, and Castle are projected to be solid at the MLB level, though it sees Dee Gordon basically languishing behind.

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The Rotation

Clayton Kershaw is simply a beast, and he figures to check in with a 75 FIP-. This might seem high considering his 2011 and 2012 ERA- figures of 63 and 67, respectively, but when you consider that Felix Hernandez clocks in at 78 FIP- for 2013, you get the picture.

What might surprise is how close new acquisition Zack Greinke comes in behind him, as he figures to put up an FIP- of 81. Granted, he has always projected favorably, as his career FIP- is 80, while his career ERA- is 88, but even adjusting slightly for that, there’s a definite case there for the best 1-2 punch in the majors.

Unfortunately, this is where it gets murky, as Chad Billingsley has the stuff to be the #3, but if I were a betting man, I would bet his elbow implodes before July. He projects at 92 FIP-, which would put him around last year’s performance, which was his arguably his best season since 2008. However, given the nature of his injury and its history in the league, you can basically never rely on him to stay healthy again until he has Tommy John surgery.

Next in the pecking order are Josh Beckett, who comes in below-average at 103, and foreign import Hyun Jin Ryu, who comes in well below-average at 116. As mentioned before, the scouting reports for Beckett match this projection, as he’s no longer a front-line starter due to his decrease in velocity. However, if he can manage to learn to pitch a bit more, he still has the curve to perhaps slot in as a #3 more than a #4. Ryu is a case where I would take any projection with a mound of salt, because there’s hardly anything to base objective projections on. Personally, I don’t think Ryu has the stuff to be a #2, nor do I think he’ll be a #3 on a team with a $250 million payroll, but he should slot in comfortably in the back-end of the rotation for years. I would project something slightly below-average for 2013 and then hope for better.

The rotation is a strong point because it has both arguably the best 1-2 punch in the majors and depth, with Chris Capuano (108 FIP-) and Aaron Harang (114 FIP) presumably traded for upgrades (or maybe kept somehow?), and it checks in at about 17 WAR.

Jansen is the best of the bunch (63 FIP-) and League projects a distant second (92 FIP-), but Belisario has the most upside in these projections (101 FIP-). After that, Guerra, Guerrier, and Howell are all around replacement level. Lilly projects as a league-average pitcher, assuming he’s healthy, which would be a boon to a team that has a ticking time bomb in the rotation.

As far as prospects go, ZiPS thinks Chris Reed could be a replacement-level fill-in right now, but Zach Lee, Matt Magill, and Garrett Gould need more seasoning. And for all of you who have Stephen Fife wet dreams (yes, you’re out there), he projects at a 4.91 FIP, so keep it in your pants.

Speaking of replacement level, that especially applies to the Dodgers bullpen because of Shawn Tolleson, Scott Elbert, Steven Ames, and Paco Rodriguez, so the 4 WAR projection for this pen figures to be solid.

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Team Projection

A replacement-level team figures to win 43 games, and the team with the lowest amount of wins to get into the playoffs last year was the Cardinals at 88 wins, so 42 WAR puts you in the contender range and 45 WAR makes you viable, while 50 WAR will generally make a team a safe bet to be in the postseason. The Dodgers total 46 WAR, which puts them well within the playoff hunt: good but not great.

The Dodgers basically project neck-and-neck with the rival Giants, while the D-Backs lag behind a bit by maybe a half dozen wins or so, but they’re well within striking distance as well.

So make no mistake, the Dodgers recent spending habits did not make them an elite team, as the money simply duct-taped over both a flawed team and farm system depleted by Frank McCourt‘s ownership and Ned Colletti‘s questionable decisions. But that’s not to denigrate the job the new owners have done, as they turned the franchise into a legitimate playoff contender seemingly overnight, which is still saying a lot about what money can do.

Granted, “we gave you a team that has the chance to make the playoffs” is not what fans want to hear, but it’s an acceptable scenario as they lay the foundation to rebuild the franchise the correct way in their own minds. The 2013 projections might not reflect world-beaters like most seem to expect, but it’s a projection based on historical trends rather than hopes and dreams.

The 2013 Dodgers are indeed a team with a lot of upside, and if everything breaks correctly, they could very well end up being one of the best teams in the league, but they also carry a ton of inherent age and injury risk, which is why the projections come in understandably conservative. Either way, if nothing else, this team figures to be never boring.

The Dodgers have invited 12 players to their Winter Development Camp, which, after operating for its first five years of existence at Dodger Stadium, will move to Camelback Ranch due to construction at Chavez Ravine.

The Arizona Fall League wrapped up this week with the Mesa Solar Sox — the team with eight Dodger prospects — finishing in last place with a 10-20 record. Now, it wasn’t all the Dodger prospects fault, but there were some, shall we say, not-so-great performances from some of the fellas.

I’m going to keep my eye on the Puerto Rican Winter League now, as Yasiel Puig made his debut there on Saturday night. It’ll be nice to see him get some playing time after being forced to miss the AFL with a staph infection.

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Arizona Fall League

Gorman Erickson – C
14 G, .268/.400/.341/.741, 3 2B, 9 BB

Erickson played better in two weeks worth of games in the AFL than he did at Chattanooga this season. But despite playing better, his power was still absent. While the big switch-hitting catcher looks like a power hitter, he’s anything but. His on-base percentage trumped his slugging percentage, which better suits a leadoff hitter. Still, a .400 OBP is nice.

Joc Pederson – OF
15 G, .096/.161/.154/.315, 1 HR, 6 RBI, 3 SB

Atrocious. There is no better word to describe Pederson’s AFL experience. While 15 games is hardly anything to be concerned about, an .096 average will get negative attention. Despite the poor performance, Pederson is still a top five prospect in the organization.

Rafael Ynoa – 2B/SS
27 G, .330/.374/.515/.889, 10 XBH, 7 SB

Ynoa was the Dodgers’ offensive standout in Mesa this season. He led the club in batting average, RBI (20), hits (32) and triples (four). He was second in stolen bases and slugging percentage (to George Springer, .600). Ynoa is eligible for the Rule 5 Draft, and after a strong AFL campaign, a team could take a chance on him. Then again, he is 25 and has utility player upside (at best). With the 40-man roster pretty full, I’d expect him to be unprotected.

Eric Eadington – LHP
12.1 IP, 5.11 ERA, 1.86 WHIP, 10.9 K/9

Eadington finished his AFL season on a strong note. Despite a high ERA and WHIP, his K/9 was impressive. His 15 strikeouts were tied for third-best on the club, and as a lefty who can touch 95 MPH on the gun, he potentially has a future in a big league pen.

Onelki Garcia – LHP
4 IP, 2.25 ERA, 1.50 WHIP, 4.5 K/9

Garcia finally made his AFL debut. He threw just four innings and has a total of four professional appearances under his belt. Still, I like his potential as a starter. He needs to establish a third pitch to remain a starter going forward though.

Red Patterson – RHP
11.2 IP. 5.40 ERA, 1.97 WHIP, 3.1 K/9

Patterson, who had a 9.1 K/9 with the Lookouts this season, managed just a 3.1 strikeout rate in the AFL. That might have been the most disappointing part of his season. The 25-year-old is a favorite of mine, but he doesn’t profile as much more than a middle reliever.

Chris Reed – LHP
10 IP, 7.20 ERA, 2.40 WHIP, 8.4 K/9

Reed pitched exclusively as a reliever in the AFL and he didn’t pitch that well. He was a late addition to replace Paco Rodriguez, so that has to be taken into consideration. I’ve never been as high on him as most, so maybe I shouldn’t be surprised by his performance.

Andres Santiago – RHP
19.2 IP, 6.86 ERA, 1.83 WHIP, 8.2 K/9

Santiago relieved Garcia in his final two outings, but made four starts for Mesa. He was up and down, but I like his potential. A full season at Double-A in 2013 will show whether he has a future as a starter or reliever.

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Dominican Winter League

Brian Cavazos-Galvez is 3-for-17 (.176). Looks like his Southern League numbers.

Tim Federowicz is 6-for-36 (.189) with a 1/17 BB/K rate. Ouch, again.

Dee Gordon is 28-for-88 (.318) with six triples in his 23 DWL games. He’s improved his walk rate since the last update (seven in 88 ABs).

The following outfielders are, at this point, slated to begin the 2013 season in Albuquerque:

Alex Castellanos: Could play second or third base.Brian Cavazos-Galvez: Left fielder with some experience at first base.Scott Van Slyke: Corner outfielder who the Dodgers don’t view as a 1B anymore (h/t to Jackson).Kyle Russell: Corner outfielder who could fill in at center field in a pinch.Blake Smith: Same as Russell, but better defensively.

Those guys are all but certain to be ‘Topes in 2013. Castellanos and Van Slyke have a chance to be on the Dodgers bench, but I’ll believe that when I see it. Nick Buss, who spent the entire 2012 season in Chattanooga, is another guy, and if things fall his way he could actually be the Isotopes starting center fielder. Of the guys listed above, Buss is the only true center fielder.

Then there are the players who aren’t even members of the Dodgers yet. Perennially, those are the likes of Trent Oeltjen and Matt Angle. Hell, Tony Gywnn Jr. is still under contract and could find himself back in New Mexico as well.

Bottom line is, the Isotopes are going to be jam-packed in the outfield.

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Including all of the guys above doesn’t even take into account players who could be promoted during the season based on performance — mainly, Bobby Coyle, Joc Pederson, and Yasiel Puig.

Coyle was a late-season call-up to Chattanooga and I think he’d have the best chance of playing in Albuquerque in 2013. Pederson is only 20 and should be with the Lookouts for the entire season (save perhaps a playoff call-up, as he was this past season for Chattanooga).

The wild card though is Puig. There’s no telling where he’ll begin, but it won’t be any lower than High-A Rancho Cucamonga. If he makes it to Double-A and flourishes, I could see him don an Isotopes uniform before the conclusion of the 2013 season.

Any of the trio being promoted quickly would make for even more of a mess than it already appears to be.

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Heading into last season, the Dodgers minor-league depth came in the form of right-handed pitchers and outfielders. They’ve already traded away a lot of the RHP depth and now it looks like the OF surplus could be next.

Too much of one position isn’t usually a bad thing, but the concern is that it could stunt the development of a few players, so it’ll be interesting to monitor the situation and see how it plays out.